Picker stick check



Oct. 21, 1958 H. H. MCCLAMROCH PICKER STICK CHECK Filed Aug. 9, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 21, 1958 H. H. MCCLAMRO CH PICKER STICK CHECK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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A w/MM max M Filed Aug. 9, 1956 United tateis PICKER STICK CHECK Harold H. McClamroch, Concord, N. C., assignor of onehalf to James G. W. MacClamroch, Greensboro, N. C.

This invention relates to a picker stick check for looms, and more especially to an improved form of picker stick check which does not become overheated during operation of the loom and which checks the motion of the picker stick in both directions.

There have been many forms of picker stick checks devised, all of which seek to slow and stop the motion of the picker stick as it catches the shuttle when the shuttle enters the box. The earlier forms of picker stick checks comprised merely a flexible strap made from a material such as leather or fabric. However, the constant friction on the strap made it necessary to reinforce the strap at the point where the picker stick rubbed thereon in order to counteract wear at this point. In addition, the strap absorbed moisture from the air, and consequently the yield point of the strap varied depending upon the humidity.

There have been devised many types of picker stick checks which utilize a cushioned check body which is acted upon by some sort of frictional braking device. However, all of these devices have the common fault that they become greatly overheated because of the frequency of the operation thereof, the heat destroying the braking materials, such as frictional brake surfaces, thus causing the device to operate improperly. Further, these checks generally operate to check the motion of the picker stick only when it receives the shuttle, not when it throws the shuttle.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved 4 picker stick check which overcomes the disadvantages of prior art picker stick checks.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved picker stick check which does not become overheated during the operation of the loom and which is operative to check the picker stick when it throws the shuttle as Well as when it catches the shuttle. Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification taken together with the appended claims and accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view of one end or" the lay of a loom showing the invention attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of one end of the lay of the loom as shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the device according to the invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation view of the device taken along line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modification of a part of the device according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, one end of a conventional loom lay has secured to the upper portion thereof a lay plate 11, and on this plate is secured a box front 12. Pivotally secured to the lay at 13 is a pivoted binder 14, the face of which is substantially parallel to the face of the box front 12. In the lay plate 11 between the box front 12 and the binder 14 is a slot 18. A picker stick 16 projects upwardly through the slot between the box 2,856,967 Patented Oct. 21, 1958 front 12 and the binder 14. A conventional picker 17 is secured on the upper end of the picker stick. The picker stick 16 oscillates in the slot 18.

Due to the fact that the shuttle (not shown) enters therein is mounted on the bottom of the end of the lay 19 by securing means 10a in the form of nuts and bolts extending through the slots. The elongation of theslots permits adjustment of the position of bracket 19. From one end of bracket 19 depends a check shaft 25 which is secured to the bracket by means of nut 26, a washer 27 being provided between the nut and the bracket. On the lower end of check shaft 25 is a flange 28, and between flange 28 and the bracket is a bearing 29. This bearing is shown as an Oilite sleeve bearing, but may be any other suitable hearing, such as a pairof radial thrust bearings, one adjacent the flange and the other adjacent the bracket.

Mounted on the shaft 25 on the bearing 29 is a check body 20 which is made of a good heat conducting material, preferably aluminum. An arresting arm or projection 21 projects from the check body into the path of the picker stick 16. The part of the arresting arm 21 which is struck by the picker stick is lined With a relatively soft lining 23 which will cushion the impact of the picker stick 16 against the check body 21 This lining may be leather or some other similar material.

A shoulder 30 is formed on the check body 20 and projects toward the bracket 19. Integral with the shoulder 20 and projecting therefrom in the direction of the bracket is a cylindrical brake drum 31 of the same good heat conducting material as the check body 20. This brake drum 31 is of a substantial thickness in the radial direction.

Surrounding the brake drum 31 is a brake band 32 which is lined with a frictional material lining 33. A retaining lug 34 is mounted on the bracket :19 adjacent the periphery of the brake drum 3-1, and one 'end of the brake band 32 is attached thereto. An adjusting bolt 35 extends through the lug 34 and through both ends of the brake band 32. An adjusting nut '36 is threaded to the end of the adjusting bolt 35, and a spring 37 is mounted between the nut and the adjacent end of "the brake band 32. The adjusting nut 36 'is preferably an elastic stop nut and preferably has finger engaging portions thereon in the manner of a wing nut.

0n the end of the bracket 19 opposite the part on which check body 26 is mounted is a lug 39 projecting on the same side of bracket 19 as the shaft 25. Attached thereto by means of nut and bolt 49 is a loop 41 of leather or the like which loops around the picker stick 16 and is attached to the arresting arm 21 by another bolt 42. Leather loop 41- is slotted at 41a and 41b where bolts 40 and 42 pass through the leather.

In operation, the brake band is adjusted by means of the adjusting nut 36 against the action of the spring 37 until the brake band is tightened sufficiently to apply the proper amount of braking force to the brake drum 31. The picker stick 16, moving toward the rear of the slot 18 under the action of the shuttle engaging the picker 17, strikes the arresting arm 21 turning the check body 20 so that the arresting arm moves toward the rear of the slot 18. The check body 20 is arrested by the action of 3 the lining 33 of brake band 32 on the brake drum 31 before the picker stick reaches the end of the slot 18.

When the mechanism for actuating the picker stick 16 moves the picker stick toward the front of the slot 18, in order to throw the shuttle to the other end of the lay, the picker stick 16 engages the leather loop 41; When the picker stick reaches the point where the loop 41 pulls on the arresting arm 21, the check body 20 is pivoted to its initial position adjacent the action of the brake band 32. Suflicient length of loop 41 is provided so that the picker stick is arrested in the vicinity of the end of the bracket 19. At the arrested position of the picker stick 16, arresting arm 21 is reset. In the modification shown in Fig. 5 the end of the arresting arm 21a has been thickened to the width of strap 41s to increase the strength thereof and to provide a larger cooling surface.

The rapid operation of present day automatic looms will cause the picker stick check to operate with extreme rapidity. However, by reason of the substantial thickness of the brake drum 31, the good heat conducting material of which it is made, and its integral connection with the check body 21), also of good heat conducting material, the heat generated by the friction of the lining of the brake band on the brake drum will be conducted away from the surface on which the lining material acts, thus keeping the brake surface of the brakev drum cool at all times. The deterioration of the brake band liner is thus avoided by reason of the fact that the device runs cool at all times.

The spring between the adjusting nut and the end of the brake band serves to keep proper tension on the brake band at all times, and the adjustment of the brake band to compensate for normal wear of the liner can be made while the device is in operation.

It is possible, and may be desirable depending upon the material used in the liner of the brake band, to harden the surface of the brake drum either by treatment of the material of which the brake drum itself is made, or by providing a thin coating or surface covering of steel or some other wear-resistant material.

In addition to checking the forward motion of the picker stick the loop 41 resets the arresting arm 21, while the arresting arm 21 and the action of the braking mechanism on the check body 20 in turn retards the loop 41 to check the forward motion of the picker stickvwith substantially the same motion as the rearward movement of the picker stick is checked. Thus the loop acts on the check body to reset it while the check body acts on the loop to brake it.

It is thought that the invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus disclosed the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A picker stick check comprising a bracket for mounting on a loom, a check shaft mounted on one end of said bracket, a check body of good heat conducting material rotatably mounted on said shaft and having a shoulder thereon projecting toward said bracket concentric with said check shaft and an arresting arm projecting into the path of the picker stick, a cylindrical brake drum of the same good heat conducting material as said check body and of substantial thickness in the radial direction integral with said shoulder on said check body and extending concentrically of said check shaft between said check body and said bracket, a brake band lined with friction material surrounding said brake drum and with one end attached to said bracket, a bolt through'both ends of said brake band, a nut on said bolt, a spring between said nut and the adjacent end of said brake band, and a loop of material attached to the other end of said bracket and to the end of said arresting arm through which a picker stick projects.

2. A picker stick check as claimed in claim 1 in which said loop of material is a leather strap having slots in each end, and bolts through said slots securing the ends of said loop to said bracket and said arresting arm respectively.

3. A picker stick check as claimed in claim 1 in which the end of said arresting arm to which said loop is attached is thickened.

4. In a picker stick check comprising a bracket for mounting on a loom, a check shaft mounted on the bracket, a check body of good heat conducting material rotatably mounted on said shaft and having an arresting arm projecting into the path of the picker stick, a cylindrical brake drum of the same good heat conducting material as said check body and of substantial thickness in the radial direction integral with said check body and extending between said check body and said bracket, a brake band lined with friction material surrounding said brake drum with one end attached to said bracket, and spring loaded adjustable tension means through the ends of said brake band, that improvement comprising a loop of material attached to the other end of the bracket and to the end of the arresting arm and through which loop a picker stick extends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,513,044 Jones et al Oct. 28, 1924 2,146,973 Miller et a1 Feb. 14, 1939 2,322,685 Crocker June 22, 1943 2,496,722 Hemingway Feb. 7, 1950 

